Currently dentists utilize a set of impression trays to make a mold of the patient's teeth. This mold is filled will plaster to create a model of the patients teeth. The plaster model of the patient's teeth is then used by the dentist as a substructure to build either dental crowns or bridges. This model of the upper and lower dental arch is then placed in a dental articulator to allow the dentist or dental technician to make a crown or bridge. A bite transfer or some similar tool is used to align the models in the articulator. Once the upper and lower dental arch models are aligned the bite transfer is discarded. The dental technician then creates the dental restoration, crown or bridge. Once completed, the restoration is returned to the dentist for “try-in” and fitting. This fitting requires the dentist to match the restoration to the patients jaw movements.
For dentures, dentists currently utilize a set of impression trays to capture a mold of the patient's boney structure or ridge preparation for any dentures the dentist or dental technician make. This mold is filled with plaster, which is used to create a model that is then placed in a dental articulator. The dentist or dental technician will then make an educated guess as to the correct spacing between the models and as to the patients lip line. A set of “try-in” rims are created to test the assumptions made by the dentist and dental technician. The placement of the models in the articulator is then adjusted based on the modifications to the “try-in” rims. A set of “try-in” dentures is made out of wax and “tried-in” the patient's mouth. If any adjustments are made to this set of dentures, a second try-in is performed. Once these adjustments are complete, the final denture set is made from the try-in set and returned to the Dentist for final try-in and fitting.
The purpose of a dental articulator is to simulate the jaw or condylar movements of a patient. This instrument enables a dentist to obtain the necessary diagnostic information for the treatment of occlusal irregularities, such as malocclusion, and the fabrication of dental casts or “dentures.”
U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,474 (“the Lee Patent”) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,475, disclose a simplified system for measuring jaw movements, and information useful in setting and operating dental articulators. It is further suggested in those patents that plastic guide blocks of the type disclosed in the earlier Lee Patent be classified according to certain characteristics of jaw movements to provide a series of average value blocks from which the pair most closely fitting the measurements of a particular patient's condylar movements may be selected. Such guide blocks have curved walls which produce movement that closely simulates a patient's particular condylar movements, thus enabling a dentist to treat accurately an occlusal or denture problem without requiring the presence of the patient.
While these methods have been available for some time, the methods have not accurately and precisely recorded the patent's particular condylar movements. The methods currently in place fail to record the effects of both the incisal guidance and posterior guidance, in a single record, which are necessary to create a reliable non-linear duplication of the condylar guidance.
Thus there is a need for an economical and simple method to accurately replicate the unique path of motion when performing dental restorations.